GATE | GATE-CS-2015 (Set 2) | Question 65

Consider a processor with byte-addressable memory. Assume that all registers, including Program Counter (PC) and Program Status Word (PSW), are of size 2 bytes. A stack in the main memory is implemented from memory location (0100)₁₆ and it grows upward. The stack pointer (SP) points to the top element of the stack. The current value of SP is (016E)₁₆. The CALL instruction is of two words, the first word is the op-code and the second word is the starting address of the subroutine (one word = 2 bytes). The CALL instruction is implemented as follows:

   • Store the current value of PC in the stack.
   • Store the value of PSW register in the stack.
   • Load the starting address of the subroutine in PC. 

The content of PC just before the fetch of a CALL instruction is (5FA0)₁₆. After execution of the CALL instruction, the value of the stack pointer is
A.(016A)₁₆
B.(016C)₁₆
C.(0170)₁₆
D.(0172)₁₆